Don’t you just love it when you try to do one thing and end up doing another? Well this is what this activity turned into. We had tried to make homemade floam and messed up one of the steps. Instead of being bummed out we decided to turn it into a good thing. That is how we ended up with these fun floam sensory bags. I ended up being even more excited about these cause it meant no dirty counters or fingers and still having two happy kids, what more could a mom need?
Supplies:
- Borax
- Water
- Elmers Glue
- Foam Beads (I found these at Hobby Lobby with Christmas decorations)
- Food coloring
Step 1:
In a bowl combine 1/2 a tsp of Borax with 1/2 a cup of warm water.
My kids had a lot of fun helping with this activity. They were able to help right away by completing step one. I did need to make sure to supervise them during this step since Borax can be dangerous if it is ingested. Luckily my kids are old enough that they can understand when I tell them not to do something because it will make them sick.
This is actually the step we ended up messing up on. We didn’t end up dissolving all of the Borax in the water so it made the slime part of our floam stiff. If you do it the right way you may end up with a more slimy floam but it will still work as a sensory bag and may even more the sensory bag more fun!
Step 2:
Mix together 1/4 cup of glue with 1/4 cup of warm water in a separate bowl from the water borax mixture. Add a few drops of food coloring.
This step was even easier for my kids than the first. Less supervision that I had to give so I was able to prep for the next step. You can also add more food coloring for a darker color.
Step 3:
Add the glue mixture into a Ziploc bag, I used a quart sized bag. Then add in 1 1/3 cup of the foam beads and then the borax mixture. Give to your kids to mix.
This was my kids’ favorite part. They were able to mix it all and not get messy. It was also the step that gave me the idea to turn them into sensory bags.
This is what it ends up looking like. You can then add some small plastic toys or trinkets, reclose the bag and your kids will have fun finding the items that are in the floam. My kids can spend so long sitting and playing with their sensory bags. They love playing I Spy with them. It makes me excited to try out some other types of sensory activities!
Do you think your kids would enjoy these floam sensory bags? What color would they choose them to be? Let us know in the comments and let us know if you try this out!
Head over to my activity sticks post to check out some other fun kid friendly activities!
This post was inspired by Growing a Jeweled Rose.
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